10 CLOVERFIELD LANE is not a sequel, prequel, sidequel, or any other “quel” to Cloverfield. Director Dan Trachtenberg, (whose only previous credentials were the direction of a Portal fan film,) called the film a “blood relative” of Cloverfield before his movie’s release, and Producer J.J. “Mystery Box” Abrams has since clarified that they were never meant to exist in the same universe. The current comparison is that they are as similar as one episode of The Twilight Zone to another. The title is meant to promise a weird, suspenseful, and possibly apocalyptic tale, and nothing more.

ARGO may have missed a few opportunities with its source material, and a bit of the action may be fictional, but the film does a dang good job of telling a little-known story that America needs to be reminded of. While the Iranian public is the terrifying antagonist for the majority of the film, a prologue ensures that the audience knows from the get-go that they have good reason to be. The movie is about American individuals trying to clean up the trash of what America as a whole did…

Don’t be turned off by it’s weak trailer. ParaNorman was phenomenal. Beautifully filmed (with fantastic use of 3D), funny, heartfelt, with a meaningful message. My only gripe was the slightly wonky pacing of the third act. Glad to see stop motion being kept alive in such fantastic fashion! Share List